Recipe: Stuffed Peppers

Sweet Peppers Stuffed With Rice & Cheese

These peppers are stuffed with zucchini, onion, cremini mushrooms and, of course, long-grain rice. It’s also topped with a smoky Gouda cheese, which adds just the right note of tanginess and creaminess to the dish.

You could serve this as a side dish with a meat or poultry meal, or as the main course with a side salad. Prep time for this recipe is about 45 minutes followed by 35 minutes of cooking time. Yields 6 servings.

Sweet Peppers Stuffed With Rice & Cheese

When roasting peppers you plan to stuff, you always want to cook them over high heat. This ensures that the skins will be blackened completely while leaving the pepper shells firm enough for stuffing.

Roast the peppers until well blackened on all sides. Wrap each one in a double thickness of damp paper towels as it is done. Let the peppers stand until cool.

Trim the ends from the zucchini and cut it lengthwise into quarters. Scoop out the seeds and coarsely grate the zucchini.

Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and mushrooms and cook, stirring, until softened, about 4 minutes.

Pour the rice into the saucepan, stirring to coat with oil, then add the salt. Pour in enough water to cover the rice by about 1 inch (about 2 cups) and bring to a boil. Cook until the water reaches the level of the rice.

Stir the rice once, cover the pan, and lower the heat to very low. Cook, without uncovering the pan or stirring, until the rice is tender, but not mushy and the water is absorbed, about 20 minutes. Fluff with a fork and set aside to cool a bit.

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Stir the zucchini and Gouda into the warm rice.

Slide the paper towels from the peppers, removing as much of the blackened skin as you can with them. Wipe off the rest of the blackened skin with the paper towels.

Cut a circle around the stems and remove the stems and cores from the peppers. Use a spoon to scoop out any remaining seeds.

Place the peppers in a 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking pan (or any baking pan that fits the peppers snugly) and, using a tablespoon, fill the peppers with the rice mixture, leaving about 1/2 inch of headroom. Set aside.

Beat the eggs, onion powder, and a generous amount of salt and pepper together in a large bowl until smooth.

Cut the bread slices in half and add them to the beaten egg. Soak, turning them gently occasionally, until well saturated.

Cover the filling in each pepper with a piece of the sliced bread, folding and tucking it in as necessary to completely cover the filling.

Pour the tomato juice around the peppers.

Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake until the bread lids are golden brown, about 10 minutes more.